Will Harper and Dr. Dick Barnett on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

 Update: Audio can be found here of Will Harper and here of Dr. Barnett.

During the last several weeks more people have been discussing the NBA and  the actions of Donald Sterling than the NBA Playoffs. Living Your Best Life joins the dialogue by having honest conversations without punditry back and forth that will address issues that have not only plagued the NBA but our country for decades.

Will Harper

Dr. Dick Barnett

On Saturday, May 17, 2014 Emmy Award winner, CEO, producer, and director of The Global Touch Group , Will Harper and NBA legend, author, lecturer, and educator, Dr. Dick Barnett, will share their thoughts on sports and entertainment and how they are defining our culture today.

Nelson Mandela and Will Harper

Oprah Winfrey and Will Harper

Xernona Clayton and Will Harper

Will Harper will share lessons learned from working with Nelson Mandela, Oprah, Xernona Clayton, Issac Hayes, Lenny Krazit, Magic Johnson Enterprises, and ESPN to name a few and how he grew as a person from each encounter. Harper will share how the timing of Donald Sterling's debacle coincides with a future documentary that Harper is planning to produce. The documentary will explore the history of the NBA through the eyes of the original Harlem Globetrotters and NBA players like New York Knicks' Dr. Dick Barnett.

Walt Frazier, Phil Jackson, and Dr. Dick Barnett

  TSU, NAIA Basketball National Champions1957-59

New York Knicks 1970 NBA Champions

Dr. Dick Barnett, nicked named "Fall Back Baby" because of his famous jump shots, will weigh in on the Donald Sterling mayhem as well. He will share his thoughts about the ongoing systemic issues in the NBA from a player's perspective and share why he believes professional athletes must take ownership of not using their collective financial power to bring about more drastic changes in the NBA and in the communities many come from prior to becoming successful athletes.

Global Citizens, Will Harper and Dr. Dick Barnett, will empower, inspire, and motivate you to live your BEST life. Living Your Best Life,  can be heard on 760 AM in the Middle-Tennessee Region, military bases, and streamed live on U-Stream.TV from 9-10AM CST. This show will also air on WTST, a member of the HBCU radio network (XM 142).

More about Will Harper

Will Harper and Ambassador Andrew Young

Will Harper and Madame Bernadette Christie, First Lady of the Bahamas

“Why change a Picasso”, – Clint Eastwood about Will Harper’s film “The making of “Bird”- a behind the scenes documentary on Charlie “Bird” Parker, starring Forest Whitaker

During the course of his production career Will Harper conceptualized, produced and directed a plethora of projects for Oprah, Clint Eastwood, Lenny Kravitz, Jamie Foxx, Warner Bros, Disney, Paramount, Universal, ABC, CBS, ESPN, Leo Burnett and others. Possessing a unique and diverse repertoire of skills collected from his experience from major studios to independent projects all over the world (Europe, South Africa, South America, Central America, Middle East, Asia, Caribbean & U.S.). Harper is one executive whose extensive production background bestows a powerful contribution upon each and every project.

Harper’s business acumen, market sensibilities, extensive knowledge that includes every aspect of production from inception to completion and his ability to combine effective story-telling with visually-stimulating images, have established him as one of the most comprehensive producers/directors in show business. He received an Emmy Award for creating original children's programming for Westinghouse.
  original children’s programming for Westinghouse.or creating
In 2002, Harper founded The GlobalTouch Group (GTG), an hybrid branding and marketing agency. GTG’s portfolio includes television shows on major networks and branding campaigns that have tremendously increased market share for businesses worldwide.

More About Dr. Dick Barnett

Dr. Barnett in the studios with Genma Holmes

Richard “Dick” Barnett began his basketball career playing for Gary Roosevelt High School in Indiana where he led his team to the state championship. In 1955, Barnett came to Tennessee State A&I (now Tennessee State University) to become arguably the best player in the university’s history. Today, he remains TSU’s all time leading basketball scorer with 3,209 career points from 1955-1959. He, along with the “whiz kids” were under the leadership of Basketball Hall of Fame Coach John B. McLendon. The Tigers won an unprecedented three consecutive NAIA National Basketball Championships in 1957, 1958 and 1959 and became the first historically black college to ever win an integrated national championship. During those championship seasons, Barnett was a three time All-American and was named the NAIA Tournament MVP for two consecutive years. His 1957 All-American honor marked the first time an African American was ever named to the National All-American team.

Barnett was a number one draft choice in the National Basketball Association with the Syracuse Nationals. He played in the American Basketball League with the Cleveland Pipers owned by George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees in 1962 and led them to an ABL Championship. Dick Barnett rejoined the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers and played with the likes of Elgin Baylor and Jerry West for three seasons. He was later traded to the New York Knicks where he played on the only two championship teams in Knicks’ history (1970 and 1973). His number was retired and hangs in the rafters of Madison Square Garden. Dick Barnett retired as an active player in the 1970s after a long fifteen-year professional career. He continued to pursue his educational studies and received a Doctoral degree in education from Fordham University. Dr. Barnett is now President of ARM, the Athletic Role Model Educational Institute, a non-profit organization with a focus on education for at risk students. He has recently been named the Commissioner of the WBL, a professional basketball league in New York. Dr. Barnett has been inducted into the Indiana Sports Hall of Fame, the Tennessee State University Sports Hall of Fame (1983), Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (2005) and the College Basketball Hall of Fame (2007). He is the first TSU athlete to ever have his jersey retired (#35).

Photo credits: Will Harper, Genma Holmes, Dr. Dick Barnett, TSU and New York Knicks Archives

2013 Guide to Jewish Nashville is Hot Off the Press

Two years ago, I was given a copy of the Jewish Observer by a friend who read an article I had written in the another media outlet. Being a lover of diversity, the newspaper became one of my favorite papers to read.

I became so fond of the Jewish Observer that I decided I would advertise my companies in their publications. Beginning in June, my ads will run in every issue of the paper and next year's Guide to Jewish Nashville.


In the meantime, grab the current issue of the 2013 Guide to Jewish Nashville. Featured stories includes the works of artists Kaaren Kirschwith Engle, Kim Phillips, and Zev Goering, who embrace their Jewish heritage. You also find an intriguing story about a dresser that helps solves a 60 year old family mystery.

Interiors by Zev

The Jewish Guide is filled with a comprehensive listing of congregations, organizations, and educational opportunities.  It can serve as a handy reference all year long. The Jewish Observer, the only Jewish newspaper covering Middle Tennessee. It is published by the Jewish Federation of Nashville twice a month.

 Look for the Holmes Pest Control ad in the paper and Living Your Best Life ad on the website.

The Nashville Scene is Walking Around Naked in a Glass House

The Nashville Scene made the selection of the first African American to the Belle Meade Country Club breaking news on its Pith Blog yesterday. For sometime now,  The Nashville Scene has reported on the lily white makeup of the club so the first person of color joining Belle Meade Country Club is probably breaking news for some of its readers.

The Scene and its commentators have debated in depth the merits of David Ewing, Darrell freeman and others becoming members, or not, of the exclusive club located in West Nashville. What I find more interesting is the lily white makeup of the media outlet that is reporting on the lily white complexion of a social club. I also find it ironic the number of events around town that are sponsored by The Scene and NFocus that caters to the constituents of Belle Meade Country Club. Now compare that to the number of events that have a more diverse, modest income crowds that are not sponsored. Hmm.

There is no beef, just noticing that The Nashville Scene is throwing rocks while walking around naked in a glass house.

Lambda Theta Alpha, Iris Montes, and Jennifer Reyes on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Join Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes as we profile organizations and leaders who lead by example. With extraordinary acts of kindness and charitable giving that help countless lives daily, these organizations and leaders embody "Be the change you want to see in the world".

Hear from Greek fraternities and sororities who are global change agents. We will also hear from CEOs of social enterprise businesses who are changing communities and college educators who are taking their students out of the classroom and into surrounding neighborhoods for real world life lessons and to serve others. Listen to young men and women who are energized to help make a differences in their communities and regions by challenging status quo and shattering glass ceilings.

 On Saturday, October 20, 2012, tune in to learn about the first Latina Sorority in the US, Lambda Theta Alpha. Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) 's journalism student, Iris Montes, President of MTSU's Delta Iota Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha, will share about the sorority's rich history and  mission. We will also hear from Jennifer Reyes, news reporter with News Channel 5, about her life as journalist and celebrity reporter. Our show will  be compelling as we hear from Iris who is preparing for a career in journalism and electronic media while active in many organizations and Jennifer, a media veteran, who has covered the news in several cities, hosted a magazine show, and produced segments in other countries.

Living Your Best Life, a radio show that empowers, inspires and motivates one to live their BEST life, can heard on 760 AM in the Middle-Tennessee Region, military bases, and streamed live on U-Stream.TV from 9-10AM CST.

More About Lambda Theta Alpha

Colors: Burgundy and Grey Principles:
Unity, Love and Respect
Goals: Scholarly excellence, empowerment of Latinas and the universal woman, cultural and political awareness, and community activism.

Founded at Kean University, in NJ in December of 1975.

Lambda Theta Alpha was the first sorority ever created to cater towards the needs of Latinas in the nation.

The purpose of the organization is to create a support group for Latinas in higher education, and unite the Latino community on campus.

Lambda Theta Alpha was established as an academic sorority. LTA is not an exclusionary organization.

The LTA National Philanthropy is St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Lambda Theta Alpha is a member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO).

Lambda Theta Alpha is a fully insured organization which covers all of its chapters. Each chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha is recognized by its respective institution. Sisters at each chapter enjoy complete participation in campus activities.

Lambda Theta Alpha has established Alumnae Chapters. Lambda Theta Alpha has established Graduate Chapters. Lambda Theta Alpha has established chapters throughout New Jersey, Connecticut, Puerto Rico, New York, Maryland, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia, Tennessee, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina and Washington.

Lambda Theta Alpha is proud to be recognized as the 2000-2001, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 recipient of the Sorority of the Year award from NALFO and Latinogreeks.com.
Orientation: Women of all ethnicities.

More About Iris Montes

Iris Montes, 21, is a third-year student at Middle Tennessee State University. She was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL. At the age of 15, she moved to Tennessee. She started studying at MTSU in Fall, 2010. Iris has is majoring in Electronic Media Journalism, and Global Studies. She became a member of the Delta Iota Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Incorporated, in Spring 2011 and is currently president of the Delta Iota Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc. and vice president of the Multicultural Greek Council. Iris is also a founding member of "Better Together," an Interfaith Organization, on MTSU's campus.

More About Jennifer Reyes

Jennifer Reyes joined the NewsChannel 5 This Morning team in March 2012.
Jennifer grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Ball State University with a Marketing degree. She got her start in news in her hometown of Indianapolis working for the local Univision affiliate, first as a weather anchor and later as a news anchor and producer.

While at Univision, she interviewed many local and national celebrities, and broke stories that got national and international attention. Four years later, wanting to expand her knowledge in the business, she went on to work for WITI, the FOX affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She joined their news team first as a helicopter traffic reporter and later as a general assignment and feature weekend reporter.

Following her four-year stint at FOX, she moved back to Indianapolis where she worked as a freelance reporter for the #1 station in the market, NBC affiliate WTHR. While there she contributed reports to NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo.

Before moving to Nashville, Jennifer worked as a celebrity reporter for US Weekly and Life & Style Weekly in Los Angeles, California. She also produced and hosted a local magazine style show and worked for executive producers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.

Jennifer is a true bilingual reporter fluent in both written and spoken Spanish and English. One of her greatest career achievements include having the opportunity to travel to Mexico to produce a segment for PBS.

In her free time, Jennifer enjoys traveling, reading, exercising and checking out new restaurants.

Michael Steele's Coonery Tour Has Ended

Michael Steele was elected as the first African American Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) in January of 2009. He was elected shortly after President Obama became the first African American President of the United States. Many believed that Mr. Steele would be the Republican’s answers to President Obama. Mr. Steele could attack the President without it appearing racial. Mr. Steele promised that during his reign of the RNC, he would make sure the Republican Party reached out to more ethnic minorities across the country.


But Mr. Steele’s leadership seemed to cause more division among conservatives and was not inclusive of minorities. The RNC lost a chuck of its base to the Tea Party. The Tea Party organizations from around the country ran candidates against not only incumbent Democrats but Republican as well. The Tea party members called Republicans out in many races and promised that once they got to Washington they were not only going to hold the President accountable, but Democrats and Republicans to their vision of how they want the government work.

Down South, my grandparents used a term to call intelligent Black folks who played down their abilities and mocked their communities coonery. In many conservative circles, Michael Steele’s coonery was blamed for helping topple the RNC. Nothing prepared Republicans for his antics and out of control foolishness that came out of Steele’s mouth often. Not only was he an embarrassment to old school Republicans but many Black folks did not know what to make of Steele’s constant ignorant outbursts. His love of self-promotions made in him a comedy routine regular on The Daily Show. A Muppet like character was created to depict Steele using his street slang. His made up homeboy sayings had even people from the streets scratching their head questioning what he was talking about. Nothing from Steele’s background would have predicted how badly he would lead the RNC.

Steele was adopted by a Democrat leaning working class family as a baby. He lost his farther at an early age but his mother later remarried and had a second child. His half-sister, Monica Turner, later married and divorced Boxer Mike Tyson. Steele attended Catholic schools and even studied to become a priest. He graduated from John Hopkins University with a degree in International Studies and later received his law degree from Georgetown University Law School. Steele was employed as a corporate securities associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, & Hamilton. From 1991 to 1997, he specialized in financial investments for Wall Street underwriters, working at Cleary's Tokyo, Japan office on major product liability litigation and at its London office on corporate matters. He left the law firm and founded the Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm. He was active in politics.

Mr. Steele severed as Lt. Governor of Maryland and was the first African American to hold that title. He was instrumental in helping establish Minorities Business Enterprise program and made education a priority.

Several minority business owners that I know personally from the DC area have credited Steele for helping them establish their businesses. But they quickly point out did not recognize the Steele that was chair of the RNC. Steele, a bright and intelligent person prior to becoming a national political figure, became someone who played up the worst stereotypes of Black in mainstream media. He became a caricature from the hood that put on a suit and a bow tie that made white folks chuckle with glee and Blacks folks hold their breathes in dismay. Watching him tell his humorless jokes on TV would leave me baffled but hearing him in person left me wondering why I was even trying to comprehend his logic on the occasions I heard him speak. He truly reminded me of an Amos and Andy routine. He attacked the President as his paycheck required him to do but rarely did any of his attacks stick.

Steele could have used his talents from his previous careers to convert independents who became disillusioned with President Obama. But he could not even get ants to an outdoor picnic. He allowed racial rhetoric go too far too long. Steele’s justified statements that he knew were inflammatory nightly on cable news. He only countered it when RNC members started complaining about his lavish spending, questionable nightclub outings, and how he seemed to pocket money from his book tour instead of giving the money to the RNC. When he came under scrutiny, he ran to Black radio crying racism in the RNC. Hmm, how convenient.

Steele had no shame. Folks on Coonery circuits usually don’t. Being the head of the RNC, Steele showed us classic coonery. Right out the bat he tried to bring hip-hop to the RNC in order to reach the youth. Who say hip-hop anymore? Publicly feuded with Rush Limbaugh only to back track and kiss Rush’s Ring. And other parts. Didn’t know pro-choice did not mean pro-life. All Catholics know the difference. Swore that white folks were afraid of him. Really? In January 2010, predicted that the GOP would not win very many seats. They won 63 House seats. Said he wrote his book before he was Chairman of the RNC. Lied. Claim Afghanistan 'Was A War Of Obama's Choosing. Nope, President Bush took us to war. Twice.

Steele ended his gaffe filled two year coonery tour this month with a response to a question at the RNC chair debate. The candidates were asked what their favorite book was. Steele said his favorite book was War and Peace by Tolstoy, and then quoted: "It's the best of times and the worst of times," triggering laughter throughout the hall at the fact that Steele had in fact quoted A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens. Shameful. Thankfully, the tour is over!


Article first published as Michael Steele's Coonery Tour Has Ended on Blogcritics.

UT's Audit Figures Revealed without any Media Headlines

The University of Tennessee’s audit figures were released on May 20, 2010. There were no media inquires from school news reporters, glaring headlines or articles that insinuated that University of Tennessee is incompetent with its accounting and educating students. As I stated a few weeks ago, school audits are part of the checks and balances the Tennessee Comptroller’s Department conducts for all public colleges and universities in Tennessee; not as a witch hunt of any school.

What is disturbing about the lack of media attention for this school’s audit is the contrast to the continuous rectal probing of the folks at 3500 John Merritt Blvd by the very media outlet that did not report about UT’s audit that was newsworthy. Where are the protesters on this issue?

To blog about one school's audit and not others is not fair and balance reporting. In order for one not to appear bias or one sided, each school should be given equal scrutiny, don't you think? This is not an attempt to make any institution look bad but making sure a complete picture is given on the auditing process. All public schools are audited. But to be honest, the actions by a school of color are viewed far more harshly than their majority counterparts and are used to blanket the entire school while the same actions conducted by the majority are departmentalized or not viewed as an offense at all. This should also remind members of the community of color how working against each other is used to cement negative stereotypes about its community in the minds of the majority.

Let’s review why the audits are conducted:
1.To consider the university’s internal control over financial reporting to determine auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing opinions on the financial
statements;
2. To determine compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements;
3. To determine the fairness of the presentation of the financial statements; and
4. To recommend appropriate actions to correct any deficiencies.

University of Tennessee’s audit was 87 pages and it was as scary and spooky as the other schools given in March. Grab a glass of gin and tonic as you read from the findings and recommendations pages how the folks from Rocky Top count money without an accompanying headline or anyone raising a hand to ask questions.

1. The university needs improved review procedures to prevent errors in the preparation of the university’s financial statements
Finding

Our audit found that the University of Tennessee’s procedures for financial statement preparation should be improved to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the financial statements. This weakness resulted in several significant reporting errors:

•On the university’s June 30, 2009, statement of net assets, the Controller reported $36,743,054 of unexpended state appropriations restricted for the construction of a Biofuels Center as unrestricted net assets. The amount should have been reported as expendable restricted net assets for capital projects. The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•On the university’s June 30,2009,statement of net assets, the Associate Controller did not separately report $32,179,500 of unexpended ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization funds, which were due to the State of TN.This amount should have been classified as due to the primary government but was instead classified as accounts payable. According to GASB Statement 34, Basic Financial Statements—and Management’s Discussion and Analysis—for State and Local Governments, paragraph 61, “amounts payable and receivable between the primary government and its discretely presented component units or between those component units should be reported on a separate line.” The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•On the university’s statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets for the year ended June 30, 2009, nonoperating grants and contracts were understated by $7,134,555.00, and operating governmental grants and contracts were overstated by the same amount.A Business Manager in the Controller’s Office failed to reclassify
$7,134,555.00 of TSAC revenues as nonoperating revenues in a year-end reclassification entry. Four TSAC accounts were inadvertently omitted from the entry. The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•The Director of Accounting and Budget at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis incorrectly credited revenues against expenses in the university’s Graduate Medical Education Strategic Fund in the 2008 fiscal year. The error was discovered and the Director attempted to correct the error by reversing the entry in the current fiscal year. This actually led to an equal, but opposite, error in the current fiscal year. Therefore, on the university’s 2009 statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets, utilities, supplies, and other services (an expense category) was overstated by $4,200,000, and governmental grants and contracts were overstated by $4,200,000.The statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets was not corrected. The entry was deemed immaterial by the university’s Controller and not corrected in the financial statements.

According to the Controller, the two errors on the statement of net assets were due to the unusual nature of the transactions. The university has never been advanced state capital appropriations and is seldom advanced grant funding from the state. The Controller attributed the errors on the statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets to an oversight.

These reporting errors resulted in significant misstatements in the university’s unaudited financial statements. With an improved review process, the Controller or Associate Controller could have detected and corrected these errors before the financial statements were completed.

(In case you weren’t paying attention the unexpended ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization is called “Obama’s Stimulus money” at HBCU schools. Just making sure you folks are awake. You should take a quick break right here, refill your glass and count to five, there’s more.)

2.University personnel overbilled facilities and administrative (F&A) costs to a federal research and development grant, resulting in $11,816.04 of questioned costs
Finding

During the year ended June 30, 2009, the University of Tennessee charged $50,140.50 of subcontractor expenses for Department of Energy grant number DE-FG07-07ID14895 to the expense object code “subcontractor expenses of less than $25,000.00.” Of this amount,$25,140.50 should have been charged to the expense object code “subcontractor expenses of greater than $25,000.00.”According to applicable federal regulations, the university’s predetermined F&A rate of 47% can only be charged against the first $25,000.00 of subcontractor expenses. Because of this posting error, the 47% rate was applied against the entire $50,140.50 amount, instead of just the allowable $25,000.00. As a result, the grantor was overbilled by $11,816.04.This resulted in $11,816.04 of questioned costs.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 2, Part 220, Appendix A,F&A costs [indirect costs] shall be distributed to applicable sponsored agreements and other benefiting activities within each major function on the basis of modified total direct costs, consisting of all salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered by the subgrant or subcontract.) Equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care and tuition remission, rental costs, scholarships, and fellowships as well as the portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of $25,000 shall be excluded from modified total direct costs.

The departmental bookkeeper in the UT Knoxville Nuclear Engineering Department miscoded the $25,140.50 of subcontractor expenses.In accordance with university Fiscal Policy 115,the departmental bookkeeper reconciled the departmental ledger on a monthly basis, and the principal investigator reviewed the reconciliation on a monthly basis.F&A (indirect) costs are automatically calculated by the university’s accounting system based on the modified total direct costs posted to the grant.The total expenses, including the allocated F&A costs per the general ledger, were used to draw down federal funds. This was done by the responsible grant accountant in the Sponsored Projects Accounting Dept at Knoxville.The error was not discovered by the departmental bookkeeper, the principal investigator, or the responsible grant accountant.

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133 requires us to report in a finding all known questioned costs when the known questioned costs exceed $10,000 for a type of compliance requirement for a major federal program. Federal questioned costs totaled $11,816.04.

I don’t want to give you all of the report in one sitting, this is good reading. For more reasons to drink, read the rest of the audit at; http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/SA/cu09084.pdf

I still believe that folks in Tennessee can’t count. Y’all will stick money in columns that makes me wonder if you can count marbles in a mason jar. What is so glaring about UT’s audit is the perception of the school is not reality. UT, who is often blessed by the media, but is no different in its accounting practices than other Tennessee colleges or universities. Dare I say worst? Some in the media have written the narratives about Tennessee’s colleges and universities and feeds the public what they want you to know about a particular school, whether it is true or not. The media determines what schools gets stories depicting dark blue woes or bright fuzzy orange storylines. I am inclined to ask, why pitch or advertised with media outlets that work against a school’s goals continuously?

The storyline about school audits, in particular, began in March with my boys taking offense to how their school was being beaten black and blue two weeks in a row by Broadway's media. After researching the audits to help alleviate my sons’ distress, what I read about their school was not only unfair but WRONG. The issues uncovered were far deeper than unfairness and truthiness; my sons were unaware of the politics and motives at work to portray the institution of higher learning at 3500 John Merritt Blvd. as one of the worst in the state. The release of the audit of UT with millions of dollars in accounting errors and no media coverage shows the media’s double standard in reporting of “school related news stories”. This also illustrates the importance of questioning the motives behind storylines. What some may report as news should make one pause to inquiry about the source and the agenda behind the story. As we have learned in the last few months, some stories are gossip whispered in the wind and are given sensational headlines. The stories are half-baked sprinkled with little facts and then frosted with rumors to feed malicious appetites.

What were the real motives for reporting only ONE school’s audit figures is still being asked by many in Nashville. While we are waiting for the next color of paint to be splashed/written, we know for sure it is easier to feed negativity about an HBCU school to the public. The media can used any medium to portray an HBCU school without any retribution and sell the story as a masterpiece when the story is really garbage posing as a reporter’s work of art.



for other related stories:
http://genmaspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/03/boogie-man-stalks-tsu.html
http://genmaspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/boogie-man-spotted-on-tennessee-state.html

Nashvillians From All Backgrounds Work To Bring Area back to Life

On Thursday, April 29th , 2010, it started raining and for several days the rains from the sky did not cease. On Saturday May 1st, our city started feeling the effects of that rain. It rained more in three days than it had all of last year. On Monday, May 3rd the skies were crystal clear and a beautiful blue and the devastation from the weekend storms were evident for all to see. Our city, the city of Nashville and the Middle Tennessee region were declared disasters area along with twenty-two counties. Flood waters had gotten as high as 52 feet.

From Hermitage to Donelson, Bordeaux to Brentwood, Hendersonville to Rivergate, Metro Center to Metroplex, Uptown to Downtown, West Hamilton road to Gallatin Road, Main Street to Charlotte Ave, Briley Parkway to Old Hickory Blvd., I-65 to I-24- to I-40, Robertson County to Hickman County, Antioch to Ashland City, every inch of this area was impacted in some way; some areas more so than others. If it was not water from the Cumberland River, Old Hickory and Percy Priest lakes, creeks, or streams, water from tears touched all of us.

Nashville is called Music City, USA. It was called Music City because of the hearts of several talented young students, known as the Jubilee Singers, at Fisk University led by Ella Sheppard. They were on a mission to raise funds for their school. They could not get concert bookings because they were Black living in the segregated South. The traveled North and was heard at a convention. From there they were invited around the country to perform. In 1872, they sang at the World Peace Festival in Boston and then invited by President Ulysses S. Grant to perform at the White House. In 1873, they invited to sing before Queen Victoria. When she heard the beautiful acapella voices of the Jubilee Singers she proclaimed, “They must come from Music City.”

Our beloved city is rich in diversity and culture that is not often reflected in national or even local media. The Flood of 2010 ruined not only national landmarks like The Grand Ole Opry, and known businesses like the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills Mall that employs thousand or destroyed historical documents and musical artifacts or damaged the homes of country stars that were seen nightly on the news once the national media showed up, but everyday working people who make this city great. Many, many lives were disrupted or devastated. Black, White, Brown, and Yellow people showed up to help each other. Budget strapped non-profits opened doors to assist not only those newly homeless but their own people lives were turned upside down. Counselors needed consoling. Politicians stopped political rhetoric and campaigning and helped their fellow neighbors and constituents. Jews and Gentiles, Catholic and Protestants, Republican, Democrats, Independents; all worked beside each other these last two weeks.

I visited with several pest control operators who businesses are under water. There were no need for words; I knew firsthand what they were feeling. Tears flowed from men I know and respect greatly in this business unashamedly. I met overwhelmed moms who just got out of the hospital with newborns with no diapers, formula or personal toiletries for themselves. I saw elderly folks who were bedridden with soiled diapers on for days. Your desire for dignity does not go away in the middle of a national disaster. I spoke to several soldiers in Iraq serving our country wondering if their families are being served. Men protecting us abroad were feeling helpless because they were not there for their families. The needs are endless and consuming but I believe in the goodness of people. I saw folks from every economical, racial and ethnic background bewildered, shocked, and speechless but determined to get through this tough time. We are the Volunteer State, we will recover!

The photos you are about to see are not tagged. I chose to let you see for yourself a small fraction of who we all. Pictures tell stories. Unfortunately, those stories can be manipulated by a press that does not always give the whole story. There are more photos that will be going up later. I have hundreds of pictures that reflect our diversity, our generosity, and our courage in times of adversity. I saw neighbors being neighbors to each other, without hesitation, without question. I don’t know what the future holds but I know WHO holds the future in HIS hands. Hang in there!

(Ludye N. Wallace suffered a tremendous amount of damage to his home. While waiting for the water to reside in his residence, he gave sacrificially of his time to photograph the pics you see. You may contact him at Ludyeonduty@gmail.com)
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